Zayre

Sources close to Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. said he increased his stake in Zayre Corp. to about 2.5 percent in stock and options. The sources said DeBartolo continues to buy stock but has no plans to boost the stake beyond 5 percent.

Elaine Allen Kontes, April 10, 2008, the loving and devoted mother of Christopher and Alex and wife of Peter Kontes, died peacefully after a long illness. She had been a Greenwich resident since 1988. Elaine Kontes was born in Chicago, IL on May 21, 1950, the daughter of Theodore and Elsie Allen. She attended schools in Chicago and Oak Lawn, IL, graduating from Oak Lawn High School in 1968. She earned a degree in computer programming and started her career with IBM and Zayre...

Zayre Corp., one of the country's largest retailers, said Monday that shopping mall developer Edward DeBartolo Jr. has told the discount store chain he has bought an undetermined amount of its stock and may seek control of the company. Zayre called the bid, which would cost at least $2 billion, "unsolicited" and said it has had no discussions with the Youngstown, Ohio, developer. In a letter to Zayre, DeBartolo said his stock purchases will exceed the $15 million threshold under the...

The Chicago area has seen more than a few liquidation sales over the years as discount retailers and department stores shut their doors. So, it seems a bit unusual that a retail chain has opted to return to a market it exited a decade ago--and to the same store in the same shopping center. That's what will happen later this month when Ames Department Stores Inc., the nation's largest regional discount retailer, opens a new store in Wheaton. The 81,000-square-foot store in the...

Zayre Corp., a diversified retailer, announced that its board has declared a 2-for-1 split of its common stock, payable June 25 to stock of record June 4. The board increased the quarterly dividend to 16 cents a presplit share from 12 cents.

Off-price specialty retailer, TJX Cos., said Chairman Sumner L. Feldberg, will retire in June. Feldberg, 71, helped found Zayre Corp. in 1949, which became part of TJX, whose retail businesses include T.J. Maxx and Hit or Miss.

By Stanley Ziemba. Eric Smith contributed to this report | June 9, 1990

Ames Department Stores Inc., fighting to emerge from bankruptcy, announced plans Friday to close 221 stores nationwide, including all 38 of the former Zayre stores the firm bought nearly two years ago in Illinois and northwestern Indiana. The closings, planned for August or September, will mean the layoff of about 17,500 workers, including an estimated 2,400 in the six-county Chicago area and 320 in northwestern Indiana, said Ames officials. The move will shut nearly a third of Ames` 679...

The languishing Hollywood Fashion Center, once the grand dame of malls in tony south Broward County, Fla., is making a 180-degree turn in a bid to survive. Hollytor Properties Ltd., the mall's Canadian owner, is trying to lure a flea market to a 140,000-square-foot space that was vacated by a department store in 1990. The mall has no anchor tenants; all have moved or closed. The rest of the mall is less than 30 percent filled. Hollytor filed for protection from creditors in U.S....

In an attempt to stem its financial bleeding, discount retailer Ames Department Stores Inc. said Wednesday it is cutting 200 additional jobs at its Connecticut headquarters. Since January, Ames has cut 325 jobs from its corporate staff. The announcement came a day after the retailer declared yet another round of store closings-74 former Zayre discount stores across the country, including 10 suburban Chicago stores and stores in Rockford and Champaign. Ames hasn`t set a date for the...

Hoping to take advantage of the soft economy, a local developer is reviving a rundown shopping center built 40 years ago a mile and a half east of this western Massachusetts city's downtown. "Basically, we`re reconfiguring a `50s state-of-the-art neighborhood commercial center to adapt it to the `90s," said the developer, Edward Hoe Jr., who purchased the seven-acre property for $650,000 in January. The shopping center, which originally housed a supermarket, a...

Louis A. Yafa, 83, a retired regional executive for Zayre Corp., died Tuesday in Glen Oaks Nursing Home, Northbrook. Mr. Yafa had worked for Zayre from 1961 until he retired in 1977. He is survived by his wife, Ethel; a daughter, Helen Mayerhoff; a son, Stephen; a brother; and four grandchildren. Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday in Piser Weinstein Menorah Chapel, 9200 N. Skokie Blvd., Skokie.

Louis A. Yafa, 83, a retired regional executive for Zayre Corp., died Tuesday in Glen Oaks Nursing Home, Northbrook. Mr. Yafa had worked for Zayre from 1961 until he retired in 1977. He is survived by his wife, Ethel; a daughter, Helen Mayerhoff; a son, Stephen; a brother; and four grandchildren. Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday in Piser Weinstein Menorah Chapel, 9200 N. Skokie Blvd., Skokie.

Ames Department Stores Inc. reported a second-quarter loss of $152.5 million, but store officials said the loss before non-recurring charges was significantly smaller than expected. The loss for the discount store chain, which filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in April, was $4.15 per share. The store lost $11.1 million, or 38 cents a share, in 1989's second quarter. Ames said this year's second-quarter loss reflected $73.1 million in non-recurring charges,...

Off-price specialty retailer, TJX Cos., said Chairman Sumner L. Feldberg, will retire in June. Feldberg, 71, helped found Zayre Corp. in 1949, which became part of TJX, whose retail businesses include T.J. Maxx and Hit or Miss.

By Stanley Ziemba. Eric Smith contributed to this report | June 9, 1990

Ames Department Stores Inc., fighting to emerge from bankruptcy, announced plans Friday to close 221 stores nationwide, including all 38 of the former Zayre stores the firm bought nearly two years ago in Illinois and northwestern Indiana. The closings, planned for August or September, will mean the layoff of about 17,500 workers, including an estimated 2,400 in the six-county Chicago area and 320 in northwestern Indiana, said Ames officials. The move will shut nearly a third of Ames` 679...

The West Town Center redevelopment at Milwaukee and Ashland Avenues on the Near Northwest Side has started leasing 142,000 square feet of offices on the top five floors of a six-story former Wieboldt's department store. Kaleidoscope Inc., a state-funded social service agency for families and troubled teenagers, will become the first tenant by occupying 17,000 square feet, according to the developer, Joseph Freed & Associates, Arlington Heights. In addition to the new offices, the project has 190,000...

In an attempt to stem its financial bleeding, discount retailer Ames Department Stores Inc. said Wednesday it is cutting 200 additional jobs at its Connecticut headquarters. Since January, Ames has cut 325 jobs from its corporate staff. The announcement came a day after the retailer declared yet another round of store closings-74 former Zayre discount stores across the country, including 10 suburban Chicago stores and stores in Rockford and Champaign. Ames hasn`t set a date for the...

In a citywide investigation Thursday, the Chicago Department of Consumer Services found that six Zayre department stores have been cheating their customers, city officials said. After receiving complaints from shoppers throughout the city, department officials visited stores at 1360 N. Ashland Ave., 4100 S. Ashland Ave., 2600 N. Western Ave., 2750 W. Columbus Ave., 3101 W. 26th St. and 7528 S. Stony Island Ave., and found that each of them has overcharged customers for sale items and...